


Come Home

by emdaro



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Heavy Angst, M/M, newsbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-30 05:29:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12101778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emdaro/pseuds/emdaro
Summary: “I…She was taken, Jack. Detained. In Pakistan, of all places. Her dad called me. I don’t know anything else.”





	Come Home

Phone calls at four in the morning never brought good news. Sarah knew this, she understood it. She had just never experienced it.

The call roused her from sleep, annoying her to no end. She answered, her voice thick. “Hello?”

“Sarah Jacobs? This is Joseph Pulitzer, Katherine’s father.”

Sarah became instantly more alert. She held the phone tighter to her ear, anxious. It wasn’t like her girlfriend’s father called often to chat. “Oh, Mr. Pulitzer. What’s going on? Is Kat alright?”

She heard a shaky sigh and then silence for a few moments. “Katherine has been detained in Pakistan. We’re working on the details.”

The phone slipped from Sarah’s grasp, crashing to the ground. She couldn’t breathe. She knew Katherine’s work was dangerous, she knew it. But she never expected that she’d be arrested. She had just seen Katherine two days previously, before she flew off to report on another story. Her flight was supposed to land at noon the following day. Sarah had taken the day off work and bought flowers to pick her up. She grabbed the phone and held it to her ear again. “What did you say, sir?”

“Do not speak to any reporters. I’ll call you when I have news. I know how you…care for my daughter.” With a click, the line disconnected.

Sarah sat there for a few moments, frozen. She slowly got to her feet and grabbed her shoes, then tugged on one of Katherine’s sweatshirts. She inhaled the familiar scent, trying to keep it together. She had to tell the others. Katherine’s friends were family to her and Sarah knew they had a right to know. She grabbed her keys and climbed into her car, driving quickly to Jack and Crutchie’s apartment. She went inside, using her key to let herself in. Her pace quickened as she walked down the hallway to their bedroom. She burst into the room, the door hitting the wall with a bang.

Jack sat up, eyes searching wildly for the source of the noise. “Sarah? What the hell are you doing here?” He tugged the sheets around the two of them a bit tighter, not wanting to expose anything.

“It’s Katherine. She’s been taken.” With that, Sarah broke. Saying the words out loud made them real. . Katherine was imprisoned in a distant country, far from Sarah. There was a genuine possibility that Sarah would never see her again.

“Wait, taken?” Jack shook Crutchie, who hadn’t woken up when Sarah walked in. The other man groaned and rolled over. He curled against Jack, who shook him again. “Crutch, wake up. Sarah’s here, it’s about Katherine.”

Crutchie immediately sat up, rubbing his eyes. “What’s going on?”

Sarah cried harder, unable to speak. She vaguely saw Jack get out of bed and pull shorts on, then felt arms wrap around her. She heard him tell Crutchie to call Davey and the others, then led Sarah into the living room and sat on the couch with her. She sobbed against his bare chest, unable to contain it. The terror gripped her, she felt as though she was going to be sick. At the same time, she felt like she shouldn’t have been surprised. Katherine was a brilliant journalist. She chased stories few reporters would dare. Her articles and interviews with people of the Middle East were famous. She had no fear, a passion for reporting human rights stories, and she had a reckless notion that she was invincible. All those factors put together were bound to end poorly.

“Sarah, shh…” Jack stroked her hair, trying to calm her. “Please. You’ve got to tell me what happened.”

Sarah took deep breaths, trying to stop the tears pouring down her cheeks. She couldn’t. She tried to speak anyway. “I…She was taken, Jack. Detained. In Pakistan, of all places. Her dad called me. I don’t know anything else.”

Jack nodded slowly. “Alright.” He pulled away from Sarah, gripping her by the shoulders. “It’s going to be okay. Listen, her dad’s got all kinds of connections and she’s a smart girl. She’ll come home.”

Sarah couldn’t bring herself to believe Jack. Journalists weren’t safe, not in countries like Pakistan. People Katherine had known, worked with, had died in places like that. Katherine could very well…no. Sarah couldn’t think that way. She had to try and stay calm. If she thought about Katherine coming home in any other way than alive and well, she’d fall apart.

Sarah heard the faint clicking of a crutch and looked up. Crutchie pressed a warm mug into her hands, then sat beside her. Jack got to his feet and walked out of the room, the door to his art room slamming behind him. She winced slightly. “Is he okay?”

Crutchie bit his lip. “I don’t know.” He replied softly. “He probably just needs some time alone. You know how close they are. Come on, drink up.” He tried for a smile.

Sarah took a sip of the drink, the sweet taste of hot chocolate hitting her tongue. Crutchie and her had bonded over a mutual love of hot chocolate and exasperation at their partners for refusing to commit to a regular sleep schedule. Katherine and Jack were fans of coffee, using it to stay up late to finish a painting or an article. “Thanks, Crutchie.” She leaned her head on his shoulder.

“Don’t mention it, Sarah. I can’t imagine if it was…” Crutchie trailed off.

The front door flew open and Davey stumbled inside. His hair stuck up in all directions and his shirt was inside out. Sarah set her hot chocolate down and jumped to her feet, falling into Davey’s arms.

Davey held her tightly. “Sarah, Crutchie told me what happened.” He sat down on the couch, his arm around her. “Have you heard anything?”

Sarah shook her head, leaning against Davey heavily. “No. Nothing.” She whispered. “I…I’m so scared, Davey.” She heard Crutchie leave the room, presumably to check on Jack.

 “I know. But it’ll be okay.” Davey squeezed her shoulders gently. “It’s Katherine. She’ll come home, Sarah.”

Her brother’s words calmed her more than anything. Davey was always so calm, so logical. He had to be right. He just had to be.

Three days passed. There was no word from Katherine’s family, except they were working on the situation and they’d call when they had more information. Jack and Crutchie’s apartment became a sort of home base, where most of their friends dropped in to see how things were going. Sarah’s boss told her to take as much time as she needed, which was good because she wasn’t much good for anything besides sit on Jack and Crutchie’s couch with a blanket wrapped around her while she watched the news. She hadn’t been home. She didn’t think she could handle it, seeing all of their things. Their pictures and Katherine’s clothes hanging up in the closet and everything else. She didn’t sleep much anyway, so it didn’t matter. Every time she drifted off, images of Katherine’s broken body haunted her.

On the fourth day after Katherine had been detained, Davey finally convinced her to go on a walk with him. She got dressed in some clothes he had retrieved from her apartment, even brushed her hair and everything. They were walking through Central Park, arms linked. Davey pointed out things that normally would have made her laugh, but she could only manage a faint smile. It was good, though. He was trying and Sarah was so grateful for that. He had just pointed out a woman trying to walk four large dogs at once when her phone rang.

“Hello?” Sarah answered, voice soft. She stopped walking, pulling Davey to a halt with her. “Really? Alright. Yes, yes! Of course I’ll be there. 1:00? Yes. Thank you, thank you so much.” She hung up her phone and turned to look at Davey, tears in her eyes. “She’s safe. They got her out, she’s coming home.” She lunged into Davey’s arms and hugged him tightly. “Davey, she’s coming home!” She was half laughing, half sobbing. Her body felt light as they began the walk back to the apartment. Katherine was on her way home, everything would be fine.

On the way to the airport, Sarah couldn’t keep still. She fidgeted in her seat as Jack drove. There was a small team of them on their way to the airport to receive Katherine. Davey, Crutchie, Spot, Race, Specs, Romeo, and Albert had all insisted on coming along. Spot drove the car behind them. Katherine’s dad couldn’t be bothered, he claimed to have some sort of important dinner he had to attend. Sarah didn’t care, she knew Katherine wouldn’t either. Her real family would be there to welcome her home. Davey reached over and took Sarah’s hand as it fiddled with the hem of her shirt.

“Sarah, relax.” Davey squeezed her hand gently. They climbed out of the car once Jack parked and the group made their way into the airport. Sarah looked at the arrival times, noticing that Katherine’s plane had just landed. It was late and JFK was nearly deserted, so different from the week before when Sarah had dropped Katherine off. Her heart sped up as she saw a familiar figure walking towards the sliding glass doors.

“Guys, that’s her.” Jack said, his arms around Crutchie.

The doors slid open and Katherine emerged. Sarah ran forward and tackled her in a hug, the two of them spinning around from the force of it. Katherine hugged Sarah back tightly. “Hey, babe.” Katherine’s voice was quiet as she held Sarah. She pulled back, cupping Sarah’s cheeks and wiping away the few tears that had fallen. Sarah stared at her. She was pale and a little bit thinner than when Sarah had last seen her, but she was alive. She was alive and solid, standing there with Sarah.

“Are you okay?” Sarah whispered, staring up at Katherine.

Katherine nodded. “Just fine.” She brushed their lips together lightly before pulling away to greet the rest of their friends. Sarah watched with a fond smile. She finally extracted Katherine from Romeo’s grasp about ten minutes later and they left the airport. Jack and Crutchie dropped them off at their apartment and Sarah led Katherine inside, curling up next to her on their bed. “Kat?”

“Hm?” Katherine looked up at Sarah.

“I…Was the story worth it?” Sarah whispered.

Katherine stiffened slightly. “Of course it was. It’s always worth it, Sarah.” She looked down.

“Katherine, you could have died or they could have raped you or…or…” Sarah was cut off by lips pressing against her own.

“But they didn’t.” Katherine said calmly once she pulled away. “That’s what matters.”

“I need you to promise me you won’t go back there. Please, Katherine.” Sarah practically begged.

“I can’t promise you that.” Katherine sat up, staring down at Sarah. “This is what I’m meant to do, Sarah. Go to those places and report what’s happening. If…If you can’t handle that, then we shouldn’t be in this relationship.” Her voice was steady but Sarah could hear the faintest waver to it. She was reminded of the first time they met, the fierce girl who had called out a homophobic guy in the dining hall. As much as she hated the idea of Katherine going into danger, she had to admit to herself that her convictions were part of the reason Sarah had fallen in love with her. Katherine was beautiful, but it was her personality that drew Sarah in. Her sharp wit, her no nonsense attitude, her sense of adventure. She didn’t stand for bigotry and if she saw injustice, she called it out.

“I…I just want you to be safe.” Sarah whispered.

“I can’t promise you that either. My work isn’t always safe, Sarah.” Katherine tucked a piece of hair behind Sarah’s ear. “I can promise you that I’ll always come back to you though.”

Sarah nodded, clutching Katherine’s hand. “Promise?”

Katherine smiled softly. “I promise. However far away I go, I will always come back.” She squeezed Sarah’s hand gently and Sarah knew she meant it. Katherine might not always go to the safest places or steer clear of danger, but Sarah was confident she’d always come home.

 

 


End file.
